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24 July 2018 Photo Johan Roux
Student safety at centre of UFS agenda
UFS and Central University of Technology students at last year’sStudent Safety Awareness March.
The safety of students is at the fore of the University of the Free State’s agenda.
A number of on- and off-campus security measures exist which are constantly being developed and supplemented as the need arises. Students are urged to take cognisance and make use of these services and facilities that seek to address safety and security issues.

24/7 Operational Centres
Protection Services consistently works towards ensuring that security is tight on UFS campuses through its 24/7 Operational Centres. Emergencies and crime incidents that affect students may be reported at the centres. The certification of documents and drafting of affidavits are also facilitated at these centres.

Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) Cameras
All campuses are monitored by CCTV cameras on a 24/7 basis.  A process is under way to further enhance cameras to cover hotspots. Recently a total of 107 cameras were upgraded to improve the safety of students. An assessment on the adequacy of lighting was conducted and a process is under way to improve lighting on campuses where a weakness was observed.

Red Pole Alarms (Panic buttons)
Red pole alarms fitted with cameras were installed around the Bloemfontein Campus. These are linked to the Operational Centre. Alarms are tested daily and any problems observed are attended to immediately. A process also under way to install red pole alarms on the South Campus.

Security Patrols 
Security patrols are conducted on a daily basis on foot and by vehicles on all campuses to respond to student complaints and for visibility.

Security at residences
Security Officers are deployed around the female residences at night. Monthly liaison meetings are held between Protection Services with Housing and Residence Affairs to discuss areas of improvement and alternative options to ensure security.

Dedicated Investigating Officers
There is a 24/7 Investigating Officer on standby available to students and staff who has a fully entrenched relationship with the South African Police Service (SAPS) Investigation Unit. All cases are fully investigated, and cases being handled by SAPS investigators are also followed up by Protection Services.
  
Accreditation of off-campus residences
The Housing and Residence Affairs department, in collaboration with Protection Services, has conducted assessments of off-campus student residences to check the adequacy of security measures of the facilities.
 
Student Crime Stop WhatsApp group
A WhatsApp group consisting of students, members of SAPS, the Community Police Forum (CPF), Sector Policing, Protection Services, and armed security companies was set up to share safety and security concerns experienced by students. 

Dedicated security and SAPS vehicles deployed at identified hotspots 
Security patrols are conducted at areas such as Brandwag, Willows and Universitas, where a large number of students live. In addition, joint crime awareness sessions with SAPS are held to address issues that arise from time to time.
 
Distribution of whistles 
The whistle project in collaboration with SAPS, CPF and armed response companies, is currently under way. The UFS has purchased 10 000 whistles which will be distributed to students at all campuses.
 
Community Police Forum (CPF) membership
The UFS is represented on CPF committees. In the near future a CPF will be established on the Bloemfontein Campus to ensure student participation.

News Archive

Students have a responsibility in SA, says Ntuli
2016-02-19

Description: 2016 SRC presidents Tags: 2016 SRC presidents

Lindokuhle Ntuli (left), President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), and Paseka Sikhosana, president of the SRC on the Qwaqwa Campus, are in agreement about their vision for the UFS in 2016.
Photo: Johan Roux

You and I have a role to play in building the new South Africa built upon the Constitution of 1996.

These are the words of Lindokuhle Ntuli, President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). They echo his and the SRC’s message of a “campus for all students, locally and internationally, irrespective of colour.”

Ntuli and Paseka Sikhosana, president of the SRC on the Qwaqwa Campus, were in agreement about their vision for the UFS in 2016.

According to Sikhosana, a well-known slogan accentuates a feeling of uniqueness at the university. “United in diversity. No wonder we say only a Kovsie knows a feeling,” he says.

“As the SRC, we believe that complete transformation on campus is through promoting a non-sexist, non-racial, but democratic student society that acknowledges diversity and change. That further promotes and embraces one student’s difference in terms of culture, tradition, religion, and sexual orientation.”

A new South Africa

Ntuli means students have a responsibility. He referred to a quotation from Frantz Fanon’s book, The Wretched of the Earth, to illustrate this. Fanon was a revolutionary and writer whose works are influential in post-colonial studies. “Every generation has a mission. It is the responsibility of every generation to discover its mission. Once you have discovered it, you have to fulfil it or betray it into relative obscurity,” Ntuli quoted.

According to him, the South African Constitution holds pious promises of a better life for all, and each citizen needs to help to achieve that.

SRC has open door policy 

Ntuli says the UFS remains committed to human embrace, diversity, integration, and human togetherness. He added that the SRC has an open door policy, and will avail itself in helping students.

According to Sikhosana, it is the objective of the SRC to represent the student community in all interactions within the university and externally.

“There is nothing for us, about us, without us students,” he says.

• The above excerpts have been taken from Ntuli and Sikhosana’s respective welcoming speeches to first-year students on the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses.

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